Wednesday, November 30, 2011

An Advent Prayer for Our Priests

In this time of special Grace, this blessed season of Advent, we pray to you, O Holy Virgin Mary, for our priests. Give them a heart that is able to relive Christ's coming in their lives, a heart able to contemplate the way in which the Son of God, on the day of their Ordination, radically and definitely marked their entire existence immerging them in His priestly heart. May Christ renew them daily in the Eucharistic Celebration so that their own lives become transfigured into His coming for humanity. Give our priests an attentive heart able to recognize the signs of Jesus' coming in the lives of every man, especially to the young who are entrusted to them, so that they are able to recognize the sign of that special coming which is the vocation to the Priesthood.

~Adapted from the 2011 Advent message given to priests by Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy


Ave Maria!  Cardinal Mauro's message, which can be accessed here, is worthy of our attention and reflection, even if we are not members of the clergy.  Our Lady is, as Cardinal Mauro calls her, the Icon and Model of the Church, and all of us can learn from her to live as she did, "in vigilance, filled with loving and grateful wonder."  Dear Mary, Virgin of Advent, pray for us as we journey with you to Bethlehem.  Amen.

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